Every week, Dr. Jean-Marc Sène, sports doctor, presents his sports column in Priorité Santé. This week, he gives keys to practice a sport regularly despite a busy schedule.
Making the decision to exercise daily is already a big step, but sometimes you can’t find the time to put this decision into practice. Do you have any solutions to offer?
Work, family, children, outings with friends or travel… If you want to understand how you got there, it is better to start by identifying the main constraints of your daily schedule.
Time is precious, especially when you constantly feel like you’re running out of it. If your schedule seems hopelessly busy, some optimizations are sometimes possible to allow you to find free time. What about your job? Have you ever considered slipping in a workout during your lunch break? Do you think you can negotiate flexible hours for certain days of the week? Working an extra hour 3 days in a row to take your afternoon off the next day, for example… There are many solutions, and you shouldn’t hesitate to open up a dialogue with your company.
There are indeed activities that consume our time, particularly greedy: Internet, TV and video games are the best examples. These passive activities eat up the thirty minutes you would need for your workout…
If despite these suggestions, you can’t find enough time to exercise, nothing prevents you from slipping a few exercises into your daily routine. A 15-minute muscle awakening session (abs, push-ups and sheathing for example) every morning before going to the shower, nothing better to start the day off right. A floor mat at the foot of your bed and you’re done! And then, there is no small effort! Forget the elevator in your building and take the stairs at the metro exit. Better yet, cycle to work. You may be surprised how much time you can save this way.
Do some sports take longer than others?
All sports are not equal in consumption of your time when you take into account the investments that are necessary and the results obtained on the body with limited practice. So if time is a treasure for you to keep preciously, it is better not to scatter yourselves in overly complex disciplines.
Cycling, horse riding or activities at sea, for example, require specific equipment. They are therefore more time-consuming.
Practice a sport that offers you its infrastructure nearby. Also pay attention to the preparation time required before each session.
Walking, running and yoga can be practiced anywhere and require little equipment.
It is therefore preferable to move towards rather intense efforts to spend you in a minimum of time. Running is an interesting choice when you’re short on time, because you also remain in control of the intensity of your effort.
You can also go for high intensity interval training. You alternate very short periods of intense effort with periods of recovery. A good physical condition is necessary: before you start, take an exercise test and obtain a certificate of aptitude for sports practice from a doctor.
These sessions are to be avoided for people suffering from arterial or heart diseases, or for those who are affected by a chronic disease (arthritis or diabetes, in particular).
It is important that sport remains a pleasure…
At the right dose, sport can reduce stress and reduce the mental load accumulated on a daily basis. But if you fall into exaggeration by accumulating sessions with the desire to progress too quickly, you expose yourself to risks of physical overload and demotivation. In a busy schedule, sport must remain a pleasure that contributes to your life balance.
Going out after work to let off steam is a good thing, but don’t go overboard either. Do not go for a half-marathon the day before an important meeting, because you risk not assuming the direct consequences of your actions, and especially you will be disgusted with the physical effort if it goes wrong.
So keep room for fun in your progress, and sport will soon no longer be a constraint in your schedule.